European logistical knowledge saves time and money

Evolution Time Critical demonstrates how an intimate knowledge of European infrastructure yielded more efficient route planning and reduced customer costs.

In a recent example of exemplary logistical planning, Evolution Time Critical was able to combine the transportation needs of two separate shipments – from two different countries – so that they would both reach their destination in Finland at the earliest possible opportunity.

Originally conceived as requests for two separate charters to Kempele, Evolution Time Critical quickly realised that both deliveries could be made using just one aircraft – reducing the overall cost of the job.

The first inquiry, for a shipment of automotive parts in Barcelona, Spain was followed by a further inquiry from the same customer for a similar shipment in Wort, Germany, both with delivery deadlines of 06:30 the following day. In Spain, Evolution organised urgent collection from the supplier at 14:55, and rushed the shipment to Barcelona airport by 16:02. By 16:30, a specially chartered aircraft was in position, and an hour later was airborne, en route to Nuremburg Airport in Germany, to collect the second urgent shipment. Nuremburg was chosen by Evolution not only because it was the closest airport to the shipper, but it also had the facilities to handle the aircraft with the necessary fast turnaround times.

The flight from Barcelona arrived in Nuremburg at 20:45, to await the arrival of the second shipment. The German supplier worked into the evening to complete the order, and Evolution was able to depart from Wort by 22.00 to take the urgent consignment to the waiting aircraft, for the final leg of the journey. With delivery required by 06.30 the following morning Evolution negotiated the earliest possible landing slot at Oulu Airport, where pre-arranged express handling ensured that the consignment was quickly loaded onto the truck waiting to rush the consignment to the end customer.

"We could have got one of the shipments there earlier," explains Brad Brennan, managing director of Evolution Time Critical, "but the delivery timescales were still achievable using the single charter aircraft. What is more, the use of a single aircraft significantly reduced the cost of operating two chartered aircraft, giving us savings that we were delighted to pass on to the customer.

"Time critical logistics isn't always about split-second deliveries. Granted, a lot of our work does rely on precise timing, but this instance also demonstrates our knowledge of what is available, when it is available and when we can get it there – using the most efficient option we can find. It is always nice to delight our customers and the significant cost savings we realised, especially when the customer was expecting a two-aircraft charter, were a nice turn up for the books."